Virtu Financial LLC Sells 3,399 Shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Virtu Financial LLC lowered its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 59.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,300 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 3,399 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. King Wealth Management Group raised its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 1,086 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.3% during the first quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,877 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,211,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 777 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 2,330 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $627.00 price objective (up from $558.00) on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $550.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $660.00.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

Shares of GS stock opened at $721.76 on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.38 and a 52 week high of $737.88. The company has a market capitalization of $218.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $681.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $614.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The investment management company reported $10.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.82 by $1.09. The company had revenue of $14.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.53 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.32% and a net margin of 12.37%. The business’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $8.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $4.00 per share. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.00. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group’s payout ratio is 26.44%.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CFO Denis P. Coleman sold 7,463 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.40, for a total value of $5,406,197.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,469,493.60. The trade was a 28.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John F.W. Rogers sold 6,008 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.39, for a total transaction of $4,310,079.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 65,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,176,283.79. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,079 shares of company stock valued at $14,423,221. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc, a financial institution, provides a range of financial services for corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals worldwide. It operates through Global Banking & Markets, Asset & Wealth Management, and Platform Solutions segments. The Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial advisory services, including strategic advisory assignments related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense activities, restructurings, and spin-offs; and relationship lending, and acquisition financing, as well as secured lending, through structured credit and asset-backed lending and involved in financing under securities to resale agreements.